What’s in a name? Ask Mason Hearn. After 12 years in business (first as McGuire/Hearn and later as McGuire, Hearn & Toms) he became the sole owner of his company and had to decide what to call it. Hearn, who does remodeling, historic restoration, and a small number of custom homes, admits the matter gave him pause. “What happens,” he asks, “when you’ve built all this equity in the name and then just toss it out?” The more he and his staff looked into the problem, though, the more it seemed like an opportunity. The right name could better define their image and reflect “our recognition that our company was more than the shareholders.” Hearn hired a PR strategy firm “to keep from having all this goodwill and brand equity disappear when we make the change” and a design firm to create a distinctive visual identity to go with the new name. Playing on the dual meaning of Hearn’s first name, they coined a new company moniker that highlighted the capabilities of the team while leveraging the reputation of the boss himself: HomeMasons.
Creating a new name and graphics, though, was only half the battle. In making the transition, Hearn asked, “How are we going to get a lot of punch and let all the people know who need to know?” To ensure a smooth hand-off, Hearn and his PR people orchestrated a campaign that included press releases, mailings to past clients and trade contractors, and a kickoff party. “We invited three- or four-hundred of our closest friends, as they say. We just threw a big bash here at the office. Set up a tent, had a band, hired a caterer, had a bar.” Hearn saved the unveiling of the new name—and the logos, signage, truck graphics, and more that went with it—for the party itself. “Our signage was sort of under cover,” he says. “Even our employees we told the day before.” The strategy worked. The party was a success, the name change drew positive coverage in the local business press, and subsequent lead flow remained at pre-transition levels. More important for the company’s future, the new image seems to be making an impression, Hearn reports. “People have told me, ‘I see your trucks all over town.’” That has to be a positive indicator, Hearn says, “because they were there already, and we have only three. They’re just more recognizable now.”
HomeMasons, Manakin-Sabot, Va.
www.homemasons.com
Type of business: custom builder/remodeler
Years in business: 12
Employees: 16
2004 volume: $2.6 million
2004 starts: 14
